Technical Field
The present invention relates to a carrier arm joint device or a carrier system for holding and supporting a medical device with a predefined mass, wherein the payload of the carrier arm joint device is adjustable depending on the weight exerted by the medical device. Depending on the lever arm, the mass also exerts a torque on the carrier arm joint device. In particular, the present invention relates to a carrier arm joint device with single features of claim 1, as well as to a carrier system or stand device comprising single features of the respective independent claim, respectively, as well as the usage of such a carrier arm joint device on a medical stand device, in particular in an operating room.
Description of the Related Art
Stands, in particular, ceiling stands, as for example, ceiling supply units, monitor supports, or so-called spring arms or central axes, usually comprise one or more carriers arranged rigidly or in a way to be adjustable in height regarding a vertical position, by means of which an attached medical device may be moved and positioned, for example, in an operating room, in particular, also in an intensive care unit. On the stands supply units are usually attached, on which medical-electrical devices are arranged, for example, which will be supplied with the required media during surgery, for example. Devices may also be a (diagnosis) monitor or an illumination apparatus. The carriers or supply units are usually mounted to be rotatably and/or vertically adjustable and/or vertically pivotable around an at least approximately horizontally aligned axis. Depending on the function or design, the carriers may also be denoted as cantilevers, carrier arms or spring arms.
For such stands it is required to suspend the medical devices or terminals, wherein a counterforce has to be applied in a respective carrier which works against the weight of the device. The counterforce has to be adjusted depending on the mass of the device. Here, an adjustment may have to be performed for a maximum range of different weights or masses, and without limiting the freedom of movement of the carrier/carrier arm.
For balancing the medical device and to work against the mass thereof, a compression spring or a tension spring supported kinematics may be used, which is adapted as a parallelogram. Thus, the carrier arm comprises two struts which are arranged as a parallelogram and are mounted in two pivot axes with the ends thereof, respectively. The struts extend between two carrier arm joints that define two pivot axes being arranged one above the other, respectively. Here, the spring is here arranged on one of the struts and acts as energy storage and as a force generating component on the strut to accommodate the force components or torques resulting from the mass/weight of the medical device in the kinematics. The kinematics is adapted in a way that the spring arm is configured to hold or balance the medical device in the respective vertical position without the requirement to perform any additional settings on the spring arm. The carrier arm may be pivoted manually from the horizontal position about the (respective) pivot axis upwards or downwards and may be stopped at an arbitrary position, for example in a pivot range from +45° (upwards) and −50° (downwards). This kinematics may then be adjusted by using an integrated adjustment mechanics, in particular in the rear carrier arm joint. Such an adjustment mechanics will be explained in detail in FIGS. 1A, 1B.